Jack Williamson

Jack Williamson (1908-2006) was one of the greatest science fiction writers of the 20th Century, and I would argue he was at least as important as Heinlein or Asimov.  The reason Williamson might not be as well known as he should be is because he was quieter than the other two.  His ideas, though, they were the things other writers built upon.

The Williamson Lectureship was postponed  until later in the year.  It would have taken place the first weekend of this month (April).  If it’s been canceled, I don’t want to know right now.

But I digress. Jack Williamson was born on this date, April 29.  He was one of the first science fiction writers I ever read.  I picked up stripped copy of The Best of Jack Williamson at a flea market bookstore for a quarter, not realizing at the time that the book had technically been stolen.  I was in 7th grade.  I won’t say what year that was.  (I can too remember the year! It was the winter of…ha, I see what you did there.) I’ll just say that the paperback was still in print at the time.  I’ve since upgraded my copy to one, well,… several, actually, with a cover.

One of the stories in that volume that I remember, at least partially, was the second story in the book. The contents of all the Ballantine Best of series were in chronological order.  “Dead Star Station” was written early in Jack’s career and published in the November 1933 issue of Astounding, edited by F. Orlin Tremaine.  Jack’s first published story, “The Metal Man”, was published in 1928.

It’s an old-fashioned blend of space opera and scienctifiction like Gernsback used to publish.  A group of men are on a station in the Orion Nebula. Their job is to help guide ships through the nebula and around a dead star, sort of like an interstellar lighthouse.  There’s an old man on the station, Gideon Clew, who stayed on after the Service retired him.  He’s been working on a gravity nullifier.

One day the men go to the aid of ship.  There’s only one survivor, a young girl named Tonia. Clew unofficially adopts her.  Eventually the captain of the station is rotated off. Tonia accompanies him on the ship that is returning him to Earth. Gideon is both heartbroken and excited. Heartbroken because Tonia is leaving, and excited because a part for his device that he ordered a year ago is on the ship.

Not long after the ship leaves, it is taken over by pirates.  The new captain of the station, who is a stickler for rules and wants Gideon off the ship, sets off after them.  The station is a decomissioned ship, so this isn’t a problem.

The pirate is a pretty nasty piece of work. He’s able to outmaneuver the good guys. So of course, Gideon is going to be the one to save the day.

The science in this story is a little dated, but then it was when it was written. The idea of the ether had pretty much fallen by the wayside before the 1930s.  Other than that, though, the rest of the story hangs together pretty well. There was action and adventure, the characters, while somewhat cardboard at times, we likeable. The science was critical to the story.

The only thing I really didn’t buy was the happy ending. It felt forced, given what Williamson had said a few pages earlier. I have to wonder if F. Orlin Tremaine hadn’t insisted on making the ending more upbeat than it was originally. If so, I can understand why, even though I don’t agree with that decision.  The story is pretty dark in places, but the ending would have been perfect if the last few paragraphs were left off.  It’s kind of like Tom Godwin letting the girl live at the end of “The Cold Equations.”

l. to r., Bradbury, van Vogt, Williamson. You’ll be hearing more about these gentlemen over the coming months.

Sadly, “Dead Star Station” isn’t in print at the moment. However, there are a number of copies of the paperback on the secondary market for reasonable prices.   And it isn’t too hard to find in second hand shops.  It’s one of the Best of series that still tends to turn up from time to time.

I hadn’t read “Dead Star Station” since the 7th grade. It held up well. In spite of being over 85 years old, it still provided that sense of wonder and adventure.  If you can your hands on a copy, check it out.